Qatar’s Hamad International Airport has been ranked the Middle East’s top-performing airport and second globally, according to a newly released global ranking by AirHelp, the leading travel tech company supporting passengers with flight disruptions.
The airport’s strong performance reflects Qatar’s broader commitment to excellence in infrastructure, travel, and hospitality. Leading the Middle East, Doha Hamad International Airport earned an impressive 8.52 points, securing second place globally and the title of the region’s top-performing airport. The airport also came out on top when evaluating the largest airports, handling over 250,000 flights each year.
The 2025 AirHelp Score ranks 250 airports from across 68 countries – an increase of 11 airports compared to 2024. Airports were assessed in three key categories of Punctuality, Customer Opinions, and Food & Shops. Cape Town International Airport in South Africa ranked the world’s top-performing airport, achieving an impressive 8.57 points overall.
The data highlights a strong surge from the Middle East, with eight airports breaking into the global top 20 – a significant jump from just two in 2024, spotlighting the region’s growing excellence in aviation.
Middle East on the rise
Riyadh King Khaled International Airport in Saudi Arabia made a remarkable leap from 33rd to 3rd place worldwide, with a score of 8.47, making it the second-best performing airport in the Middle East and across the largest global airports. Muscat International Airport in Oman follows closely with the same score, placing it third in the Middle East and fifth overall.
Dammam King Fahd International Airport in Saudi Arabia ranks 10th globally and fourth in the region, with a strong score of 8.26, while Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport rounds out the regional top five, placing 11th worldwide with 8.22 points.
Additional Middle Eastern airports in the global top 20 include Medina Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport in 12th place with 8.21 points, which achieved the highest customer opinion score globally at 9.2. Dubai Airport follows in 18th place with 8.14 points and a staggering 9.1 for food and shops, topping the list worldwide. Finally, Abu Dhabi Airport is in 19th place, scoring 8.11 points.
Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp commented: “At AirHelp, we believe passengers should be able to make decisions about air travel based on more than just the price of a flight. Our goal is to equip them with an insight into flight performance using other factors that matter. Through the AirHelp Score, we can help passengers better predict what their experience will look like at different airports and what they can do if their flight gets delayed, cancelled or overbooked.”
Since 2015, the AirHelp Score has helped passengers make more informed decisions by ranking the performance of airlines and airports worldwide. Similarly to last year, and to better serve passengers ahead of the busy summer months, airport and airline rankings will be published separately, ensuring passengers have timely access to the latest airport performance data. Find out more about AirHelp’s Best Airport Rankings Worldwide here.
